Alfredo Cisneros Del Moral Foundation 2008 Award Winners San Antonio, TX — September 19, 2008 — The Alfredo Cisneros Del Moral Foundation is pleased to announce winners of the 2008 Foundation Award: poet Sheryl Luna (El Paso, TX) and writer Kristin vanNamen (Plano, TX) were each awarded $5,498. Poet: Sheryl Luna was born and raised in El Paso, Texas. She currently lives in Lafayette, CO where she teaches at The University of Colorado at Boulder. A graduate of Texas Tech University, she earned a doctorate in contemporary literature from the University of North Texas and a M.F.A. from the University of Texas at El Paso. She also holds a M.A. in English from Texas Women's University. Her collection of poetry Pity the Drowned Horses won the first Andrés Montoya Poetry Prize at the University of Notre Dame. The collection was profiled in "18 Debut Poets Who Made their Mark in 2005" by Poets and Writers Magazine. Ms. Luna was a semi-finalist for the Nation's "Discovery Prize," a finalist for the National Poetry Series, the Perugia Press Prize and the 2006 Colorado Book awards. Writer: Kristin S. vanNamen is currently earning her doctorate in Humanities at the University of Texas at Dallas. She earned her MA in Humanities, Aesthetic Studies at the University of Texas at Dallas and her BA in Women's Studies at the University of Kansas. She is the author of Glorie in a Small Town, and her short story collection, Sorrow Causes Crazy, explore ritualistic traditions and rites of passage through humorous narrators who are distinctly Southern and oftentimes proud of their status as small-town outcasts. Ms. vanNamen has taught Creative Writing at the University of Texas at Dallas. She is a Pushcart Prize nominee and was recently short-listed for a Glimmer Train prize. The Alfredo Cisneros Del Moral Foundation was created in 2000 to honor the memory of Sandra Cisneros' father, an upholsterer. "My father lived his life as an example of generosity and honest labor," Cisneros has written; "Even as he warned us to save our centavitos, he was always giving away his own. A meticulous craftsman, he would sooner rip the seams of a cushion apart and do it over than put his name on an item that wasn't up to his high standards. I especially wanted to honor his memory by an award showcasing writers who are equally proud of their own craft." The Alfredo Cisneros Del Moral Foundation invites a panel of nominators to recommend writers from across the writing disciplines who were born in Texas or who currently reside in Texas. Recipients are selected for exhibiting both exceptional talent and a profound commitment to their chosen form of expression. The 2008 judges were poet Wanda Coleman, writer Lois-Ann Yamanaka, and San Antonio Library Director, Ramiro Salazar. Past judges have been journalists, memoirists, anthropologists, poets, historians, essayists, and novelists, including Edwidge Danticat, Linda Hogan, Dr. Antonia Castaneda, John Phillip Santos, Dagoberto Gilb, Dr. Arturo Madrid, Dr. Norma Elia Cantú, Dr. Carmen Tafolla, and Rubén Martínez. Please note: The Foundation does not accept individual solicitations, nominations, or funding requests.For more information, contact:
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